Bacchu Kadu, six others held during farmers’ protest march to Raj Bhavan

Legislator and chief of Prahar Janshakti Party, Bacchu Kadu, was arrested along with six others on Thursday, during a protest march of farmers to Raj Bhavan.

Legislator and chief of Prahar Janshakti Party, Bacchu Kadu, was arrested along with six others on Thursday, during a protest march of farmers to Raj Bhavan.

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Prahar Janshakti Party workers, along with thousands of farmers, were staging a protest to highlight farmers’ issues such as crop loan waivers and crop damage owing to unseasonal downpour.

However, owing to a law-and-order issue, they were detained by the police at Nariman Point. The Mumbai police arrested Kadu and six other protestors on charges of rioting, violating the law, and getting into a scuffle with the police, while they were protesting near Mantralaya. “After investigation, we arrested Kadu and his six fellow protestors for rioting and other charges. They have been released on bail,” said Subhash Khanvilkar, assistant commissioner of police, Colaba division.

Kadu, an independent MLA, said, “As President’s rule has been imposed in the state, the Governor is the only ruling authority. Considering agricultural loss owing to unseasonal rain, the Governor should declare immediate financial help for farmers.”

The Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS) condemned the detention of farmers and Kadu’s arrest. Ajit Navale, ABKS, said, “The Governor should immediately declare wet drought in the state. All political party delegations should be immediately sent to Delhi to seek financial help from the Centre.”

ABKS also threatened to launch a state-wide agitation, outside the offices of all tehsildars, if farmers are not provided immediate relief and assistance.

According to the state agriculture department, unseasonal rain in October and November damaged crops on an area of around 68 lakh hectares. The state has approved a ₹10,000-crore immediate relief package for affected farmers.

The Prahar Janshakti Party won two seats in the recently-held state Assembly elections. While Kadu won from Achalpur, Rajkumar Patel bagged the Melghat seat.